As director of the Providence Venture Cafe, Reilly Kons has spent the last few years working closely with entrepreneurs in Rhode Island to build their dream business.
Now, Kons and his partner, designer Hayley Pires have launched their own startup in Rippl, a design and brand development company.
"We are grounded in where we live and are inspired by so many of the great products and businesses here we can have a part in helping build," Kons said. "Our focus is on consumer product brand and packaging design. We want to create a space where we can bring strategic design and thinking to our local Rhode Island brands, and elevate our innovative business community."
The pair nabbed their first few clients through networking, like Little Dream Soft Play. Kons said partnering up with Anchor & Hope, a small craft winery located in Rumford, Rhode Island, set the tone for their business.
"We were connected with their team by working on a collaboration label for Moniker Brewery between the two beverage companies. After working on that label, Anchor & Hope came forward with a few smaller projects," he said. "One being to help the shopability of their canned wines. After building a new architecture for their family of wines it led to a full brand system steaming across all their products and all their brand materials. They have big plans in store and we're excited to be their design partner to be by their side through the growth."
Kons said starting Rippl has been exciting, because each project has its own unique set of challenges. Behind the scenes, Kons said the partnership at the core of Rippl works much like a restaurant. With more than a decade of experience in the design field, Pires is in charge of the ‘kitchen’, while Kons runs the front of the house, contributing skills in maintaining client relationships, community development and innovative business insights.
“Overall, the greatest challenge for a design studio like Rippl is keeping up-to-date with regulations that pertain to the industries in which our clients operate,” Kons said. “For example designs must comply with evolving regulations, such as labeling requirements and sustainability standards. Luckily, we are a team that stays curious and are always eager to uncover what we don't know.”
Even after a design is created, Kons said, there are still many things to be done in terms of marketing and branding. That can include: launch campaigns, print and digital assets, in store displays, and more.
Over the next year, Kons said he would like to see Rippl network with as many consumer packaged goods companies as possible in Rhode Island.
“The most rewarding part of this work is to hear the "why" behind the products that are being developed here in RI from the founders themselves,” he said. “We take a lot of pride in creating design that helps tell that story and if we can get that part right, we know we are doing our job in helping put RI on the map.”
